Adjusting

The next few days went by in a blur, I was so happy I did not mind though. John was with me whenever he could be. My room was fantastic! It had a giant bed with see-through silk wrapped around the top of it. Feather pillows coated the entire top of it so when I slept, it was like sleeping in a warm, fluffy cloud. The one thing that made it even better was John creeping into my room in the middle of the night to cuddle with me and sleep. It had become a habit over the last two days and I looked forward to waking up to him every morning. I was not awkward with him as he had already seen the worst of me. Now I woke up each morning and was able to bathe, do my hair, a put on a dress that fit me perfectly and had no holes in it. I was clean, well-fed, and ecstatic. I did not have to put up with being scared to live my life anymore and it was the most freeing feeling there was. Mabel also lived in the palace and we were going to the ballroom to continue our training daily. That was where I was currently heading, Mabel by my side chattering away happily. We arrived at the ballroom doors and Mabel threw them open excitedly. A whole host of plants stood in various pots all around the room. I lurched towards them with elation, gently touching the leaves and tiny flowers all around me. Mabel chuckled at me, "I thought you would enjoy all of the plants." I looked back at her and smiled, content.

We had been training for hours and I was starting to hear my stomach growl. "Mabel, are we almost done?" I asked, a little irritated. We had been working on the same thing most of the day and all of the plants had more than doubled their sizes. She shook her head at me, "We have one more thing we need to try today." She cautiously said. "What is it?" I inquired curiously, my head at a tilt. "I need you to try to do damage to a few of these plants. You should be able to manipulate them in some way. Try to snap them in half at first, then we can work on something a little harder to do." She coached. I narrowed my eyes at her, "I don't want to snap these plants in half. They are living beings." I said seriously. She slapped her palm to her forehead in exasperation. "You can just regrow them back to their original status. Just try it." I shook my head and started toward a small apple tree. Mabel followed me, "Instead of imagining it growing when the light enters it, imagine it snapping or whatever else you're going to make it do." she said in a rushed whisper. I stopped and called the green light to the palms of my hands; it was easy now and I could make it wax and wane. I pushed it into the tiny tree in front of me and imagined it snapping in half. As I imagined it, the trunk started to slowly bend and strain against its bark. I narrowed my eyes, throwing all of my focus into the plant in front of me, and suddenly-SNAP- it broke completely in half. Mabel clapped behind me, "I knew you could do that! Now, would you like to go to the kitchen before or after we master this skill?" I glared at her and she laughed. "Let us finish this session and then we will go eat," I grumbled. After another hour or so, I had mastered being able to get individual plants to bend to my will, including making them explode into multiple pieces. "Get some rest tonight, tomorrow will be a hard training session. We will use a ton of your power." Mabel urged me as we walked to the kitchen together. I nodded at her, agreeing to get more sleep for tomorrow.

After I was full and content, Mabel and I parted ways to go to our respective rooms. I had taken a few clippings from a lavender plant in the ballroom to arrange them around my room so it would smell of lavender. I enjoyed having a room that was clean and smelled good compared to the dingy, bleary mess that was in my old room. I tidied it every morning, straightening curtains, making my bed, and moving rugs to their rightful place. I lay down in my cloud bed, thinking about how times had changed for me so drastically. I remembered how sometimes after a particularly hard beating; Queen would look at me with something other than hate and disdain in her eyes. It haunted me for a long time. I kept thinking that maybe she loved me still and I had to earn it but no matter what I did she still used me as a punching bag. Tears pricked my eyes and I sat up abruptly, trying to change the direction my thoughts were taking. My door creaked open slightly and a nose peeked through the crack. I giggled, "Come in you handsome beast." "I didn't hear you. Say it again." The voice of John mock-ordered. "I shall not repeat myself." I stubbornly said, crossing my arms. John pushed himself further through the door and shut it behind him. "Is there something wrong milady? Concern laced his voice. I shook my head at him then looked out the window puzzled. "It is pretty early in the evening. How did you sneak off so soon?" I questioned. He raised his eyebrows, "Who said I had to sneak here?" I rolled my eyes at him. "Appearance is all you think of. You sneak here so that people do not see us do forbidden things as couples are not supposed to sleep together until they are joined by the church." I snapped. He said nothing, frowning and rubbing his chin for a good minute. Then turned around without another word and walked from the room. I sat there for a moment overtaken by shock at him just leaving. I ran to the door and threw it open to follow him but he had already disappeared. Sitting back down on my bed I did not know what to do. I was scared that he was mad at me. Anger meant getting hurt physically and I was scared he would come back and beat me like the queen did so many times. I called the green light to my palms and urged it to push a dresser up against the door so it could not be opened. The dresser flew over, scraping loudly against the wood floor. I settled down in bed after blowing out most of the lit candles in the room. Only one flickered, bathing the room in a warm glow. I was comforted by the blocked door, warm light, and comfy bed. It did not take long for me to fall asleep.

The light from the windows awoke me the next morning, they were shining directly in my eyes and it was annoying. I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. The dresser was still in front of the door and I felt relieved. I got up and went into the attached bathroom to start my day. After having some breakfast of fruit, I headed down to the courtyard to finally start working on my new garden in this palace. The cooks had saved me seeds from almost every fruit and vegetable there was, and I still had some leftover herb seeds from Mabel. I was so excited to get started that I bumped into a man as I hurried along with my head down, dropping my seeds on the ground. "Sorry," I mumbled, kneeling and picking them up quickly. There was no response as the man walked swiftly down the hall behind me. I chanced a look up to see who it was. The familiar body shape of John continued until he turned right and disappeared. I stood there in shock, hurt swelled in my chest and tears started welling in my eyes. He had never just ignored me. I took off down the hall towards the courtyard doors and burst out of them into the sunlight. There was a plot off to the side ready for me, all I had to do was turn the soil and plant my seeds. I bent down next to it and let the tears roll and every negative thought in my brain out. I could have filled a well with how many tears I shed. I was startled by a light touch on one of my shoulders. Mabel stood behind me with concern written all over her face. " I do not know what you and John are having a tiff about, but he is in the worst of moods." I wiped my eyes and stood up, not able to reply. "Would you like some company?" Mabel asked, extending her hand toward me. "We can plant those seeds together and watch them magically grow." She smiled warmly at me. I nodded at her and she took the seeds from my hands and organized them by row in the plot. We joked and laughed and teased each other until we were covered head to toe in dirt and the garden was thriving and beautiful. When we were done Mabel stood up and looked at me seriously. "Go find him and talk to him. Whatever has happened can be mended, I am sure." She said and hugged me. I squeezed her tightly and said, "Goodnight Mabel. Thank you for your company and advice." She winked at me and took off inside the palace.

I had been wandering the palace for hours now trying to figure out where John could have gone. I opened every door I came across and was met countless times with dark, empty rooms. How could a palace so big have so much unused space? Passing the hallway my room was in, I gave up and made my way toward it, yawning broadly. I could take a long nap and hopefully feel better later in the afternoon. As I was opening my door, I was interrupted by a guard who had appeared behind me, "Miss?" he called. I turned around, staring hard at him. "I am supposed to let you know that there will be a mandatory supper in the grand dining room this evening. You are required to come as the queen and the king will be there for you to say your last penance. Please be there just as the sun is setting." He said to me as he saluted and walked briskly off. I was not ready for a huge supper with everyone. I could barely keep control of my emotions for longer than a few hours. I suppose I had no choice, I went into my room and waited patiently for the sun to start going down.

I sat in the unfamiliar dining room, waiting for others to arrive. There were appetizers and fruits placed on the table and I lazily nibbled on a few pieces of apple. The doors opened harshly and John walked in quickly followed by his father. John took a seat next to me; his father took his seat at the head of the table. He was awkwardly stiff next to me and still did not say a word to me. We had never been awkward around each other before, even in the beginning. What was his problem? I turned towards him, "What is your problem? Why are you giving me the cold shoulder?" I asked. He looked down at me with his face a blank slate. "I am not giving you the cold shoulder." He hastily said. I stared at him; my eyes narrowed. "Why are you mad at me?" I got straight to the point. "We will talk later, Clara. Your aunt and uncle are going to be here any minute. I do not want them to see us as anything but united lest they try anything they should not because we weren't united." He snapped at me. I shrank in my chair at the tone of his voice and regret flashed through his eyes. He reached down and took my hand, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles to relax me. There was no way I was going to relax with my family here. I may not be living with them anymore but they will still find a way to make my life hell, I know it. Just then, the doors slammed open once more and my monster of an uncle walked in, his head held high and proud. The queen followed quickly behind him, wearing a different gown where the train flowed behind her. Nothing had changed about the king, but my aunt Ethel had lost weight; a lot of it. She no longer had an extra behind in the front and her forearms were nothing but extra skin that flapped around as she moved her arms. Her eyes were hollow and emotionless. Even when she looked my way, the usual hate and malice she held towards me were no longer there. "Let us get this supper underway! We have got some business to take care of. Hello men, how are you?" He asked as he shook each man's hand vigorously. He was smiling his fake, charming smile and I wanted to puke seeing it. I did not know how I was going to get through an entire supper with these two.